Darkness and the Sun
by CreativityFlow
Summary: Soul Mate AU. Nico was never a morning person, but if waking up early leads him to the cute barista, then maybe he can learn to like the sunrise.


**Because I'm Solangelo trash and really love the Soul Mate AU, I just had to do something. And of course, the Coffee Shop AU is a given, so... yeah. Please let me know what you think :)**

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On most mornings, Nico ran late. Mornings weren't his thing, so he usually hit snooze a dozen times and ran in and out of the coffee shop so quick, they were lucky he remembered to pay.

As it was, his roommate, Jason, had decided to help, and his idea of help turned out to be setting the clock back. By two hours.

By the time he realized, Nico was already showered and dressed, so there was no way he could go back to his dreams. Too pissed to stay in the same room as the blond jerk, Nico trudged his way to Olympian Java. It was a small, hole in the wall place that even the hipsters tried to avoid, but Nico and his friends often holed up there for late night study groups and coffee.

The baristas knew their names, and they knew the baristas. Nico liked it.

Dodging a student carrying textbooks equal to her weight, Nico absently rubbed his forearm. The words _What, Death Boy doesn't sound good to you?_ seemed to burn his skin more than usual. He wondered if today would be the day.

Annabeth had said that the day Percy finally said his Soul Words it had felt like her arm was wrinkling, like she kept it submerged in water for hours. Percy said his felt like he had just written a ten page essay. It had taken them almost five years of friendship before they even said their words.

Nico wondered if his soul mate was a stranger or someone he's known for months. With his luck, it's probably that weird kid who always hangs out by the water fountains outside of their dorm.

With a sigh, he pushed through the door to the coffee shop, a little bell announcing his arrival.

There was a whistle, and Nico gave a half hearted glare to Will, a blond boy with a surfers tan and eyes the color of the sky in the middle of summer.

"Did someone slip a drug into my orange juice?" he asked. "Because Mr. Emo-Italian isn't even alive until a quarter to eight."

"Shut up, Solace," Nico griped. "Jason fixed all the clocks in the dorm into making me think I was late." He stifled a yawn, and leaned against the counter.

"You must be tired," Will noted, starting to work on Nico's usual - a triple shot espresso. "You didn't even comment on the nickname."

"You used 'Mr. Emo-Italian' last week," he reminded. "You're losing your touch, Sunshine." He put a few bills down on the counter and accepted his order with a smirk.

"Alright then, Sugar Skull-"

"That's Mexico-"

"-whatever. Let's see." Will stepped back, looking Nico up and down, who tried really hard not to blush under his gaze. "I see you're wearing your usual uniform of black. But I see you added a shirt with a grey skull. Trying out different parts of the color spectrum?"

"You know, I think I like it better when I run in and out of here so I don't have to talk to you."

Will gave a very dignified squawk, and Nico chuckled.

"Rude," Will huffed. "You really hurt me this time, Nico. I think I died a little on the inside." His eyes lit up, and Will leaned forward, resting his chin in his hands. "I got it. It's perfect: _Death Boy._ What do you think?"

 _Think_? Nico couldn't _breathe_. "W-what did you just say?"

"Uh... Death Boy?" The blond tiled his head. "What? Does Death Boy not sound good to you?"

There it was. His forearm flared like he just received the biggest sunburn of his life. Will was still giving him a curious look, but now he wasn't just Will. He was _Will_ , he was Nico's soul mate.

"Nico?" Will called. "Are you okay?"

"Say that again," Nico ordered.

"Um... Are you okay?"

"No, the other thing." Nico held his breath, suddenly anxious for the stupid name to fill the air, eagerly awaiting for the sound of it to grace his ears again.

"What, Death Boy?" Will asked. "Look, I was just kidding. I'll stop with the nicknames if you want."

Panicked, Nico grabbed Will's hand. "No! I mean, uh, no. I like it." He gulped. "It... It kind of fits. Death Boy and Sunshine. Darkness and light. It fits us, don't you think?"

And then Will froze, his hand going to grip his forearm, and starting ahead in shock. "Did you just...?"

"You did it first," Nico blushed, also holding his arm.

"Can... can I see...?"

The two locked eyes, and held their breaths as they both rolled up their sleeves.

 _What, Death Boy doesn't sound good to you?_ seemed to shine against Nico's olive skin, a pretty gold that reminded him of the sun. Taking a deep breath, he finally glanced down at Will's arm, a dark silver instantly catching his eye.

 _Darkness and light. It fits us, don't you think?_

Nico's cheeks hurt, and with a start, he realized he was smiling. But Will was too, and they hadn't looked away from each other in the past five minutes.

The bell chimed, and it was enough to pull them from their own little world.

"Can I call you?" Will asked, slowly, _reluctantly_ , pulling down his sleeve.

Sending a quick glance at the new customer behind him, Nico grabbed the sharpie the baristas used to write names on cups and pulled Wills arm to him. He gently rolled his sleeve up, again admiring the words that bound them together. He hastily wrote down his digits, still smiling.

They spared another moment to smile at each other and when the guy behind Nico cleared his throat, Nico took a step back.

"Don't forget, Sunshine," he said, raising an eyebrow.

"Wouldn't dream of it, Death Boy," Will chuckled.

And then Nico was leaving, completely forgetting his coffee but not caring. He was wide awake.

Before he was out the door, he heard Will sigh. "That's my soul mate," he heard, and Nico got these weird butterflies in his stomach.

He supposed he'd have to thank Jason for the early morning.


End file.
